A normal blood pressure is usually defined as systolic pressure below 120 mmHg and diastolic pressure below 80mmHg. Systolic pressure is the measurement of blood pressure from your heart beats. Diastolic pressure is when the heart is at rest between beats. Unfortunately there is no cure for high blood pressure currently, but you can take steps to manage it even without medication. Here are 7 ways to lower your blood pressure naturally:
The force with which blood pumps from the heart to the arteries is known as blood pressure, and a normal blood pressure reading should be equal to or less than 120/80 mm Hg. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, means that the blood is flowing more forcefully through your arteries which increases the pressure on them and in turn causes damage to them.
If you are in this 130/80 range, reducing your blood pressure can help protect you from heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, eye disease, and even cognitive decline. The goal of the new guidelines is to encourage you to treat your high blood pressure seriously and to take action to bring it down, primarily using lifestyle interventions. "It is well documented that lifestyle changes can lower blood pressure as much as pills can, and sometimes even more," says Dr. Fisher.
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“We have many people with hypertension who come to Pritikin,” says Pritikin’s Associate Medical Director Danine Fruge, MD, “and within three days, many have blood pressures that have dropped so low that we need to reduce their medications or take them off their pills altogether. Yes, just three days. That’s how quickly and powerfully our bodies respond to healthy food, exercise, and other lifestyle changes.”

Another study by UCLA researchers of 1,117 men and women with high blood pressure reported that within three weeks of arriving at Pritikin, systolic blood pressure fell on average 9%. Diastolic pressure also fell 9%. Of those taking blood pressure drugs, 55% returned home medication-free. Many of the remaining 45% left Pritikin with their dosages substantially reduced.2

High blood pressure is not usually something that you can feel or notice, and it can go undiagnosed because there are usually no symptoms. Regardless, high blood pressure can lead to kidney damage, stroke or a heart attack. Therefore, it's important you get your blood pressure checked regularly. Check with your GP or nurse how often to get it checked.
It is notable that relaxation and meditation, though useful for many purposes, have not been found to impact high blood pressure. Many people find this surprising, possibly since high blood pressure also is known as “hypertension.” Because of this potentially misleading term, many people have assumed that high levels of stress or “tension” are a major cause of “hypertension,” or high blood pressure. This is not the case. High blood pressure is an essentially mechanical, and not psychological, problem.

Patients may be rushed and anxious when they’re in the doctor’s office, resulting in higher-than-normal blood pressure readings. Home monitors let patients measure and record blood pressure throughout the day for greater accuracy. Patients can keep a log of their numbers and bring the log and the monitor to their doctor’s appointment to check for accuracy.

High blood pressure is not usually something that you can feel or notice, and it can go undiagnosed because there are usually no symptoms. Regardless, high blood pressure can lead to kidney damage, stroke or a heart attack. Therefore, it's important you get your blood pressure checked regularly. Check with your GP or nurse how often to get it checked.
Sleep. Short and poor-quality sleep are both associated with raised blood pressure (40). On the other side of the spectrum, excessively long sleep may also be harmful. One study found increased blood pressure in those who got fewer than five hours of sleep per night and in those who averaged more than nine hours of sleep per night, when compared with people who slept around seven hours (41). I suspect that it’s not the long sleep itself that is the problem, but that some underlying condition is both increasing sleep requirement and raising blood pressure.
Chronic hypertension causes the arteries throughout a patient’s body to become damaged and can lead to additional complications that may yield fatal consequences, especially when left untreated. One study noted that there is a significant increase in the risk for coronary artery disease and stroke amongst people who have elevated or high blood pressure. The study also noted that developing this condition at a younger age seems to hold an opportunity for more risks.
Cut down on salt. As you get older, the body and blood pressure become more sensitive to salt (sodium), so you may need to watch how much salt is in your diet. Most of the salt comes from processed foods (for example, soup and baked goods). A low-salt diet, such as the DASH diet, might help lower your blood pressure. Talk with your doctor about eating less salt.

The force with which blood pumps from the heart to the arteries is known as blood pressure, and a normal blood pressure reading should be equal to or less than 120/80 mm Hg. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, means that the blood is flowing more forcefully through your arteries which increases the pressure on them and in turn causes damage to them.
If you suffer from high blood pressure, your body is forcing too much blood against your artery walls. This can cause damage to your heart, blood vessels and kidneys. It can also lead to serious health problems such as heart failure, stroke, coronary heart disease and kidney failure, states the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. However, you can naturally lower your blood pressure by eating certain foods.

A study1 published earlier this year discovered that those who consumed 74 grams or more per day of fructose (the equivalent of about 2.5 sugary drinks) had a 77 percent greater risk of having blood pressure levels of 160/100 mmHg. (For comparison, a normal blood pressure reading is below 120/80 mmHg.) Consuming 74 grams or more of fructose daily also increased the risk of a 135/85 blood pressure reading by 26 percent, and 140/90 by 30 percent.

Magnesium. High magnesium intake is associated with lower blood pressure and may have a synergistic effect with potassium. Increasing both nutrients while moderately reducing sodium can lower blood pressure to the same extent as a single medication (17). Magnesium stimulates vasodilators and can inhibit free radical formation in blood vessels (18). Nuts, seeds, spinach, beet greens, and chocolate are good whole food sources.

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For a study published in the Journal of Nutrition, researchers from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University looked at how drinking three daily servings of hibiscus tea over six weeks changed blood pressure in people with pre-hypertension or mild high blood pressure. They found reduction in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, especially in people with higher systolic blood pressure to start. Hibiscus tea is loaded with antioxidants, including phenols and anthocyanins, which might explain the effect.

“The different juices are aroused in these people as a result of gluttony in food and drink. They experience improper pleasure, sadness, anger and unbridled passions, these emotions bubble-up like water placed on a fire…Those who possess this disposition, often rage in anger, and quickly forget, because of their love of good nature. Their disposition tends to anger easily, but with light laughter and cheerfulness.” – Hildegard of Bingen

A few years ago, the federal government revised its high blood pressure guidelines after research showed that even slightly elevated blood pressure starts damaging the arteries and increasing the risk of a heart attack, stroke and kidney failure. The new guidelines specify the blood pressure numbers that indicate when a person is considered “hypertensive,” as well as a new category for “prehypertensive” people who are at risk for developing high blood pressure. The new category is a red flag to spur Americans to make the kinds of lifestyle changes that you are interested in. The idea is to prevent the upward creep of blood pressure that tends to happen with age.
5. Take apple cider vinegar. In addition to lowering blood pressure almost overnight, apple cider vinegar has a myriad of fringe benefits. Apple cider vinegar helps with indigestion, especially if you suffer from diarrhea. It also soothes sore throats, cures hiccups instantly, and lowers cholesterol. Most importantly, it helps with weight loss by improving metabolism and reducing water retention -- and a healthy weight is key to normalizing blood pressure.
If you have hypertension, ask your doctor if OSA could be behind it. (In addition to loud snoring, common symptoms include excessive daytime tiredness and early morning headaches.) Getting your sleep apnea under control could be helpful for improving your blood pressure, says Robert Greenfield, MD, Medical Director of Non-Invasive Cardiology & Cardiac Rehabilitation at MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA.
What is a normal blood pressure? Blood pressure is essential to life because it forces the blood around the body, delivering all the nutrients it needs. Here, we explain how to take your blood pressure, what the readings mean, and what counts as low, high, and normal. The article also offers some tips on how to maintain healthy blood pressure. Read now
Perhaps you’ve never given much thought to your blood pressure, especially if it’s been spot on for most of your life. But as you get older and deal with more stressful aspects of in life, it can affect your blood pressure. Maybe not quite high enough to require medication, but it may be something to keep an eye on it. And this can affect even those who eat well, exercise most days, and do all the right things to stay healthy.

Among the uncertainties about blood pressure, there is a reliable option in the quest to discover a number you can trust: It's called ambulatory monitoring. If your physician advises this option, you'll wear a device that measures your blood pressure at half-hour intervals for 24 hours. According to the United States Preventive Services Task force, a federally sponsored group that draws up medical guidelines, 12 to 48 hour monitoring is the preferred way to determine a diagnosis of high blood pressure. “We all know treating hypertension is good, but we don’t know how aggressive we should be,” Michael Lauer, MD, director of the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) told The New York Times in 2015.

Stiff blood vessels can increase blood pressure, but dark chocolate contains flavonoids to keep your arteries flexible. Three ounces of dark chocolate a day (milk chocolate doesn’t have the same flavonoids) can help reduce blood pressure in older people who have isolated systolic hypertension, which is when only the upper number of a blood pressure reading is high, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Wine, tea, and fruits and veggies also contain flavonoids.
The stronger the heart, the more efficiently it can perform. Those who are physically active and exercise regularly are far more likely to maintain healthy blood pressure than those who do not. According to the American Heart Association, 40 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity three to four times per week is all it takes on average to help reduce high blood pressure.
Providing at least 5 servings of vegetables and 4 servings of fruits daily, which help ensure that you eat plenty of foods that are full of stomach-filling volume yet are low in calories, enhancing weight-loss efforts. Losing excess weight is one of the most effective ways to lower blood pressure in the short term. Eating plenty of nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables also means you’ll be eating excellent sources of potassium, magnesium, and calcium. Many studies have found that foods rich in these minerals help blunt some of the toxic effects of sodium.
Magnesium supplements were found to modestly lower blood pressure—by about 2 points in both systolic and diastolic pressure—in a 2016 analysis of 34 clini­cal trials. A 2017 analysis of 11 clinical trials reached a similar conclusion. It looked at the effect of magnesium supplements (365 to 450 milligrams a day) on blood pressure in people with diabetes, prediabetes, or insulin resistance. But supplements aren’t necessary to get those levels of magnesium; a healthy diet supplies plenty of the mineral. For the best sources of magnesium, see the chart here.
2. Take an omega-3 oil. Omega 6:3 ratio is important. A lot of us get way too much omega-6 in our diets, which is what's caused the omega-3 craze. Refined vegetable oil is one of the main culprits, and found in almost all processed foods, and even some orange juices. Because we have way too much omega-6 in our systems, we need to compensate by taking some form of omega-3 oil. Decreasing your intake of processed foods will have a similar effect.
While making these changes may not mean you can immediately go off your blood pressure medications or never have to take them, they will improve your overall health and reduce your risk for developing other diseases, including diabetes and possibly even cancer. Making healthy lifestyle changes can reduce your risk of stroke, heart attack or kidney damage, and reduce the likelihood that your dose of blood pressure medication will need to be increased in the future.